10 Cars That Sank Detroit

[FLYBOYJ]

Thats a lot of work , finding drive shafts cutting out the fenders , a whack of custom work ,

It was. He had to modify the motor mounts and put in a shortened Torino trans axle for the rear end. The 283, being so small required little mod to the fenders, although the body was starting to tweak slightly because he didn't put a sub frame in the car. This isn't his car but this was about how it looked when he finshed it.

 

[Lucky13]

I bet that it moved....

 

[FLYBOYJ]

I bet that it moved....

It did - I know he took it to the track a few times, I can't remember what he ran with it. In the early 80s when Chevy changed the body style of the Camero, every dumbass who had a new Camero or Firebird tried to race him - he'd eat them alive!

 

[Njaco]

Pb, I love the Avanti!

 

[pbfoot]

There weren't many euro cars of any quality at least for the north American way of driving in the 60's 70's the Beetle being the exception . The Brit vehicles were torture chambers in the winter, Renault , Fiat tried and failed in the market, and the rest were very exspensive to maintain .Toyota broke through with the Corolla and Celica andf the rest is history

 

[Njaco]

Fiat, ugghh! I owned 2 - a 124 Spyder and an 850 Spyder. One was a rust-bucket and the other a fancy lawnmower!

 

[mkloby]

What most people this side of the pond cannot understand is that most of these companies seem to have problems with by US standards smaller cars. However most of the companies produce good small cars in Europe. Why didn't they increase production in Europe for export which would keep the dealerships going and profits up while retooling / designing new cars in the USA.

The Ford lineup in Europe is second to none in value and as good as the best in quality. The Mondeo is the car of the year in most peoples books, my neighbour has bought the new Fiesta and its a very smart car, plus if you want a small car, the Ka has just been replaced with a new design . On top of this the Focus (different to the US version) has been the best seller for years.
GM also do an excellent range of cars with some innovative designs yet I understand from people I know in the USA that they either don't exist in the USA or are very hard to find.

There must be some logic somewhere but damned if I can find it.

BINGO!

Sorry - I've been thinking that for years since I went to Germany and Austria... there's not any logic behind it. That is a major failure of corporate leadership.

 

[Lucky13]

Just think about it, like cars for every 10 years from '49, '59', '69, '79, '89, '99 and 09.... Things started to go downhill between '69 and '79.....in size and in styling!

 

[Njaco]

I wouldn't stop at '79. I haven't seen anything in style the last 30 years except polished suppositories on wheels.

 

[sk3tch]

I owned a Cadillac Cimmaron. It was used but man, what a heap.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I am a firm believer though that the older cars were built to last and with quality. Obviously not all of them. I for one drive a 95 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 5.2 V8. I love the beast.

It has 180,000 miles on her and still going strong. Yeah I have to replace some things here and there based off of normal wear, but the vehicle is great!

Try getting 180,000 miles out of a new car today. I am a firm believer they are built on a 5 year plan.

 

[Lucky13]

And.....if you by any chance open the bonnet/hood to check something, then you're scr*wed, no warranty! They build them in such a way that you cant fix anything yourself unless you have a 5 year doctors school under your belt and a ultra modern laptop with all the needed programs....and a garage that would make NASA etc. envious!

 

[Vassili Zaitzev]

The older are better in my opinion. My 96' cherokee classic is still going strong with 120,000 on it. Some things I've had to fix, but that happens.

 

[Negative Creep]

Modern cars are more reliable, but when they go wrong it's more costly. A lot of cars you can't even change the headlamp bulbs by the roadside and I know of at least 2 where you have to jack the car up and go in through the wheelarch! Give me an older car any day, it may be nosier but at least you can feel what the car is actually doing when you turn the wheel